Historic Building Ice Shop in Kaohsiung – Refreshing and Sweet Taihe Matcha Snowflake Ice

Text & Photos /Shadow

In my memory, the area along Lotus Pond toward the Luzhuang-Zuoying Road was mostly filled with traditional snacks, with few Japanese-style shops. I never expected that not long ago, a new snowflake ice shop opened here—just a few minutes’ walk from Lotus Pond. When passing by, keep an eye out for its blue sign, or you might miss it if you’re driving too fast. Yanxue is a new shop set up in a renovated historic building. The owner has loved eating ice since childhood and was inspired to open a shop after tasting delicious snowflake ice in Tainan by chance. During the preparation process, the owner abandoned traditionally mass-produced ice bricks from factories and instead developed their own—using purely natural ingredients to make the ice bricks. Putting consumers’ peace of mind first is the shop’s guiding principle.

Although it’s a renovated historic building, the shop has retained some of the old structure’s features, such as side windows and wooden beams, giving off a distinct vintage vibe. The overall ambiance is different from modern cafés.

The design adopts the concept of floor-to-ceiling windows, drawing in natural light to prevent the space from feeling too dim. The high-top seating facing the street offers a great view, allowing you to enjoy your ice while watching the flow of traffic and pedestrians.

Currently, there are only five flavors available, and almost every one is a signature offering. The ice bricks are made with purely natural ingredients and contain no emulsifying stabilizers, which is reassuring.

White Sesame & Black Sesame Snowflake Ice – NT$105 (Limited Supply)

The first bite immediately won us over with the rich, aromatic flavor of black sesame—we’d never tasted black sesame snowflake ice this fragrant before. The taste is full-bodied yet not bitter. The shop uses hand-ground black sesame paste from Changhua, meticulously prepared through various techniques without any added seasonings, resulting in a single ice brick. Due to the complex preparation process, it’s available only in limited quantities each day.

The black sesame snowflake ice comes with a bowl of white glutinous rice dumplings, which pair wonderfully with the black sesame.

All ice desserts come with a complimentary hot tea, and only one type of hot tea is offered per day. On the day we visited, we had genmaicha (brown rice tea), and on another day, it was cranberry tea—both unsweetened.

Salt-Baked Peanut Snowflake Ice – NT$90

Made with Beigang peanuts and natural sea salt, slowly roasted over low heat. It retains the strong aroma of peanuts, and you can actually taste the peanut pieces. The sea salt is just for enhancing the flavor—you can barely detect any saltiness. This flavor is one of my husband’s favorites.

Taihe Matcha Snowflake Ice – NT$90

The matcha snowflake ice is served with red beans—plump, smooth, and not overly sweet.

Made with Beipu green tea, using the Japanese steaming method to preserve the maximum amount of tea chlorophyll and catechins. The taste is refreshingly light, with a solid matcha aftertaste that leaves a lingering sweetness.

Fresh Mango Snowflake Ice – NT$95

Made with Fan Shan, Pingtung’s Irwin mangoes, retaining the fruit’s flesh and fiber. The snowflake ice is refreshing and not cloyingly sweet, paired with slightly sweet tapioca pearls.

Red Jade Milk Tea Flavor (Hidden Menu Item)

We were lucky enough to try the shop’s newly developed flavor. The snowflake ice has a subtle black tea taste, with the sweetness emerging toward the end. Customers who’ve tried it have given positive feedback.

After the food safety scandals, food safety has become a major concern. This shop is willing to invest more time and cost to provide natural and safe products. Such a conscientious shop deserves encouragement. Because the ingredients are natural and handmade, the prices are slightly higher. Shadow believes that paying this price for more reliable food is worth it, and hopes that more people will come to love this little shop. As summer approaches, eating ice becomes a national pastime—this delicious and natural snowflake ice is highly recommended for those who care about food safety.

Yanxue Snowflake Ice
Address: No. 128-1, Shengli Rd., Zuoying District, Kaohsiung City
Phone: 07-5885559
Business Hours: 12:30–21:30
Closed on Mondays

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